My Mexico
by ZZ Eclipse
Summary: The story of Han. From his youth to his untimely death. This is the story of Han and how he got to be where he is now, a retired international criminal running a crew in the underground racing circuits of Tokyo, Japan. Shot from Han's POV. Inspired by Katie7086's "Story of Us" series.
1. Chapter 1: This is my Mexico

**Han's POV**

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><p>It's been two full weeks since my hands last shook.<p>

I don't know. With everything that's been going on these past two weeks, I guess my hands have been busy doing other things besides porking out on chips. I've been working full time with Sean now, both in the business and in teaching him how to drift. The kid is way too wild and it's taking him a while to get the hang of drifting.

He crashed and busted the side door on the Evo during his practice yesterday. So here I am, spending hours of my free time, fixing it.

Again.

Still, I don't mind too much. The kid's getting better.

And there's no doubt that he's got guts.

He kind of reminds me of Brian from back home. I wonder how he and Mia have been. I haven't seen any of the old crew in years!

Not since Gisele...

Ah, these memories again! I used to be good at burying them, but now that I'm seeing Sean everyday, they keep coming back to me.

I feel my fingers begin to tingle again and I know I need fresh air, so I lift myself up from the Evo and walk up the stairs towards the balcony to join the others. A little company should help me clear my mind.

"I'll be back in a few," I tell Egghead, washing my hands in the sink before heading out. He nods, distracted by the pretty girl sitting next to him. _At least he's not having any problems_, I tell myself with a smile. I grab my jacket and walk up the stairs, putting it on as the cool night breeze hits me, gently brushing my hair away from my face.

Sean is leaning over the rail, laughing as he watches the rest of our crew play soccer on the rooftop behind our garage. Twinkie fakes to the right and Earl dives for a tackle, but misses and slides on his ass as Twinkie scores a goal.

That Twinkie. Ever since he joined our crew, he's been like a sponge, absorbing everything the Japanese culture has to offer. He's come a long way from being a geeky outcast from a couple of years ago...

It's amazing how I watched him and half of our 'monkeys', as they call themselves, grow up, not just into young adults, but as individuals.

'Han, the leader of a crew half his age'.

If only Dom could see me now...

"-that was a foul!" Earl was protesting.

"Hey Han," he yelled, bringing me back from my thoughts. "Sort this wanker out!"

"Wanker?!" Twinkie shouts back.

"What do I look like, a zebra?" I yell back, reaching for a cold beer. It's not a bag of chips and definitely not a smoke, but it should relax my nervous, twitching fingers a bit.

They drop the argument as Earl's team kicks off again and I walk over and lean on the rail next to Sean. I glance at him once and catch a strange vibe from him. He's uncharacteristically silent and serious. There's definitely something on his mind. I take a sip from the beer and turn back to look at the busy streets of Shibuya. At this height, the people walking in the plaza below looked like ants, quickly going about their business.

I remember how impressed I was by the view of it the first time I came up here. I've definitely come a long way from working part time in my pop's liquor store...

"So how'd you end up over here anyway?" Sean says, as if reading my thoughts.

Damn. I came up here to get my mind off of my past, but I just can't seem to avoid it tonight..

But I think that's just it. I've been running from my past for so long that I just can't evade it anymore. The problem is that I've never really sat down to talk to anyone about it outside of my old crew. The only person who really knew everything about my past was Gisele. And now she's...

Will confronting my past one more time make it easier to let go again? Maybe it's time to stop running from the past and finally revisit it again...

Time to let it all out one last time, and then I'm going to let it go for good.

I realize that Sean is still waiting for an answer so I lean sideways, wondering how to begin.

"Well, you know those old westerns?" I finally say. "The Cowboys make a run for the border?"

He smiles and nods. His eyebrows narrow and his eyes widen in interest, a sign that I have his full attention. I give the past sixteen years of my life an instant glance, all of the painful, haunting memories and all of the beautiful, perfect ones, too. I take a deep breath.

"This is my Mexico."


	2. Chapter 2: They Just Took Her

The closet was so dark.

It had been my dad's first big purchase here in the States, and he was so damn proud of that thing. Big and spacious, it had always been my favorite place to hide when my friends and I would play hide and seek. I guess that's what my mom and I are doing tonight. Playing hide and seek from the bad guys that just broke down the door to our house.

I don't know who they are or what they want, but I think they're coming after my mom. She picked me out of my bed and locked herself in here with me. Daddy's not here, of course. He's never here. Not even to save Mom.

"Mommy?" I asked her, so scared that my voice shook. "Mommy, what's going on?"

My mother was just as scared as I was. I could feel her heart beating so fast as she pressed my head against her chest and I could feel her shaking and whimpering.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie," she lied, unconvincingly. "Everything is going to be okay, don't you worry."

"Jhen Lue! Come on out," a powerful voice commanded from outside of the room. "We have a warrant for your arrest and we will come in and get you."

My mother held me closer, praying fearfully in Korean.

"Last chance!" The voice boomed.

Moments later a loud crash was heard and I began to panic. I began to cry.

Those evil men were after my mommy.

I buried my little fingers around my mother's clothes and made up my mind to never let go.

"My little one," my mother told me in Korean.

"Yes, mama?"

"These people are going to take me away for a little while."

"Where are you going mom?"

"Somewhere far away, where I can't come back," she tells me, stroking my hair.

"Then let me come with you, mom."

She smiles through her tears and runs a hand through my soft hair.

"You can't, Han. Not now. But one day, when you're all grown up, you'll be able to come. You'll be able to find me."

The loud crash banged against the door again, making us both jump.

"Remember me, my son. Remember the times we had together. Remember that I will always love you."

"What about Juna?" I plead, placing my hand on her swollen belly. "She isn't even born yet! Mommy, please don't go! I don't want you to go!" I cried into her neck uncontrollably.

"I will always be with you, my son." She pressed her cheek against mine. "Find me, Han. When you're all grown up, find me."

Then the door to the closet was broken and the room was instantly flooded with red and blue lights. The men grabbed my mother and tore her away from me.

"I will always be with you, my Han," my mom shouted as she was dragged away. "Be brave!"

She was pulled out of the room and a female officer picked me up and took me away in a separate police car. I saw my mom through the back windshield and she saw me. She began to draw in the foggy window and it took me a while but I was able to finally read her message.

_Find me._

In tears, I nodded yes and she smiled.

She managed to place her handcuffed hands against the windshield, a gesture I imitated.

Then the police drove in separate directions and I never saw my mom again.

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><p><strong>3 HOURS LATER...<strong>

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><p>I could no longer cry, so I just huddled myself to keep warm as best as I could. The police station was cold and I shivered with the temperature of this foreign environment and the emotions that were running through me now. This is all my dad's fault, I reasoned. If only he had been there to protect mom, he wouldn't have let her been taken. He would've fought for us, but instead he's out there working. Always working.<p>

A young officer walked up to the lady in the desk and smiled at me as he passed. I was in too much pain. I angrily put my head back down on my knees.

"Officer Mark," she smiled at him.

"What do we have here, Ms. Stacy?" He asked.

"Han Lue," she reported matter-of-factly. "Six-years-old. His mother, Jhen Lue, was arrested a couple hours ago, charged with using a falsified visa to work. We've given her over to Immigration Naturalization Services."

"Jesus," Officer Mark shook his head. He looked over at me and I could see true regret in his eyes. "Is anyone coming for him?"

"We've contacted his father, Hwan Lue, but he's still at work in the Mar Jac poultry processing plant. His uncle will be coming to pick him up."

That hurt. I really needed my dad right now, but he still refused to come back from work.

Work, work, work. That's all he ever cared about.

Officer Mark came over and knelt down in front of me.

"Hey there, buddy. How ya doin'?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"Please, leave me alone," I beg him. "I don't want to talk to police right now. I just want to go home."

Officer Mark's smile faded a little but he nodded.

"I understand, bud," he said. He reached into his pocket and gave me a piece of paper. "If you ever need anything at all, just give me a call okay, bud?"

He gives me his number and a juice box and walks away. Back then, I never would have guessed the role that Officer Mark would be in my life in the years to come.

Ten minutes later, my uncle picked me up and took me to his house to wait for my dad to came back from work.

I stayed up all night watching old Westerns on television. I noticed that in all of the movies I watched, the cowboys always made a run for the border to a magical place called Mexico, where they could escape from the problems chasing them, live the good life and have a happy ending to their story.

I didn't know where Mexico was or how to even begin to get there, but I wanted to find it. I wanted to run from my problems and never look back.

Yes, one day I would find my mother.

Yes, I would find my own Mexico.


End file.
